The Helen Bianchin Collection

by Helen Bianchin

  He extracted a slim envelope from his suit-jacket pocket and handed it to her. ‘The permission form. Sign and return it to me tomorrow.’

  The DNA paternity test.

  She could stall him.

  How long? A few days … a week?

  If she refused and he was forced to travel the legal route …

  ‘Don’t,’ Marcello cautioned quietly.

  How was it possible for one small word to hold such a wealth of meaning?

  Supremely conscious of Nicki’s interested attention, she slid the envelope into her bag, proffered a superficial smile and led Nicki to the car, aware of his presence as she settled her daughter safely in the rear seat.

  ‘See you tomorrow,’ Nicki bade as Marcello opened the door to allow Shannay to slide in behind the wheel.

  His mouth parted in a warm smile that skimmed lightly over Nicki’s trusting features and settled briefly on her own.

  For a few interminable seconds she was caught in the thrall of remembered chemistry. Jolted by the sensuality that coursed through her veins, unbidden, electric … and definitely unwanted.

  It had been there, simmering beneath the surface from the moment she’d heard his voice. Seeing him, sharing his company only made it worse.

  For she was forced to recall memories, evocative, spellbinding in their intensity.

  Even now, her body seemed to recognise his, and she attempted to control the curl of sensual emotion stirring deep within.

  She didn’t want to remember the all-consuming passion, the feel of his hands, his mouth … how she’d lost herself so completely in him.

  Go, a silent voice urged.

  Ignite the engine and leave.

  Now.

  Somehow she managed to get through the remainder of the day, and she bore Nicki’s excited chatter about “Mummy’s friend” and the proposed picnic as she bathed and fed Nicki, then readied herself for work.

  ‘I have lots to tell Anna.’

  Shannay leant down and kissed her daughter’s cheek as the doorbell rang. ‘Be good, hmm?’

  ‘Always,’ Nicki responded solemnly.

  A light chuckle emerged from her throat. ‘Imp.’

  ‘A nice imp.’

  Shannay gathered her in for a hug, then smoothed a hand over dark curls. ‘Extra-specially nice,’ she agreed, and crossed to let Anna into the apartment.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  MARCELLO’S IMAGE haunted Shannay’s subconscious and provided scattered dreams which seemed to reach nightmarish proportion throughout the night.

  Consequently she woke to the insistent sound of the alarm clock feeling as if she hadn’t slept at all.

  Not good.

  She had a responsible job, she worked nights, and right now she’d give anything to bury her head in the pillow, snatch an hour’s dreamless sleep, and face an untroubled day.

  Not possible.

  ‘Are you awake, Mummy?’

  Bright eyes, tousled hair, a smile to die for … the light of her life.

  Shannay reached for her daughter, gathered her close and pressed a light kiss to Nicki’s forehead.

  ‘Morning, sweetheart.’

  ‘We’re going to the park for a picnic today.’

  ‘Uh-huh.’ She playfully tickled Nicki’s ribs and the action brought forth a series of giggles. ‘Time to rise and shine, dress, have breakfast and—’

  ‘Be on the road by nine,’ Nicki completed a familiar mantra as she slid from the bed.

  The picnic, the ducks, Marcello.

  Not necessarily in that order, although combined they were the sole topic of Nicki’s conversation that morning.

  Shannay gritted her teeth as she headed home after delivering her daughter to kindergarten.

  If she heard his name mentioned again, she’d … do or say something regrettable!

  One hour in his company, and he held Nicki in his thrall.

  It was so not fair. And so typical of the man’s effect on the female species.

  Traffic lights up ahead changed and she eased the car to a halt.

  Figuratively speaking she was between a rock and a hard place. Signing or not signing the DNA paternity form only presented a relatively minor issue compared to the big picture.

  The demons of the night returned tenfold, and the sudden strident sound of a car horn thrust her back into the present.

  The insistent burr of her cellphone within minutes of clearing the intersection resulted in a juggling action as she changed lanes and pulled over to take the call.

  ‘Shannay.’

  The familiar faintly accented male voice upped her nervous tension by several notches, and it took effort to summon a cool acknowledgement.

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘We need to talk. There’s a café not far from your apartment. Meet me there in ten minutes.’

  ‘I have things to do, Marcello.’

  ‘This morning,’ Marcello elaborated, ‘in Nicki’s presence, or during your evening work hours, we will talk.’

  ‘You can’t—’ The words spilled, only to stop midsentence. He had no scruples whatsoever when it came to achieving his objective.

  ‘Choose.’

  She could feel the anger surging through her body, and at that moment she truly hated him. ‘There is no choice.’

  ‘I’ll order a latte for you.’

  Damn him to hell. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him exactly what he could do with the latte, except in some instances silence was golden, and she simply cut the connection.

  Shannay reached her apartment block and eased the car down into the underground car park, locked it, then took the lift to ground level and walked out into the morning sunshine.

  The café was close by, upmarket with outdoor tables and boutique sun umbrellas. A meeting place where friends assembled over designer coffee and sumptuous food to talk business, chat and watch the world go by.

  There, seated outdoors, was Marcello.

  Absent was the designer business suit, for today he’d chosen casual dark chinos and a white shirt unbuttoned at the neck.

  It lent him a relaxed façade … one she knew to be misleading. Despite appearances to the contrary, Marcello rarely lowered his guard. It was what he’d become, who he was … and it showed.

  There was something exigent that wrought a second look, a curiosity, sometimes fleeting, to check the level of power he emanated. A hint of the primitive, which unleashed could cause untold sensual havoc to a woman’s equilibrium.

  A quality other men admired and coveted, but few possessed.

  Marcello glanced up as she approached, and she felt the full impact of those dark eyes as they seared her own, witnessing for one moment the naked vulnerability apparent before she successfully masked it.

  He signalled the waitress as Shannay slid into a seat opposite him.

  Make-up free, except for a touch of gloss to her mouth, her hair caught together with a decorative clip, and dressed in jeans and a singlet top she looked scarcely more than a teenager.

  Except looks could be deceptive, he mused, all too aware of the latent passion that lurked beneath that cool façade.

  He remembered too well the sensual delight of her body, the persuasive touch and her eagerness to share … everything.

  Heat unfurled and ran hot as he felt his own unbidden response, the need to render her willing and wanton. His, as she had been … and would be again.

  No other woman came close, and he’d wanted what he once had.

  Worse, he wanted her to pay for attempting to deny him any knowledge of his daughter.

  ‘Shannay.’

  The waitress delivered her latte, and she selected two sugar tubes, broke them open and stirred in the contents.

  Shannay took a deliberate sip of the frothy, milky liquid, then she carefully replaced the glass onto its saucer and met Marcello’s studied gaze.

  ‘Let’s get this over with, shall we?’ she suggested coolly.

  ‘Put our card
s on the table, so to speak?’ Marcello drawled.

  He was a superb strategist who played the game according to his own rules … and inevitably saved the sting for a coup de grâce.

  Estimating precisely what that would encompass had kept her awake many nights and had haunted her dreams for a long time.

  ‘Yes.’ Delay wouldn’t achieve a thing, and wasn’t discovering the enemy’s game-plan half the battle?

  ‘The initial step is establishing legal evidence of my paternity.’

  ‘Something I won’t consent to without being fully aware of your intentions.’ Her voice was even, polite. ‘Immediate and long term.’

  His eyes narrowed fractionally. ‘Whatever is decided will be primarily in Nicki’s best interests,’ he assured with hateful ease.

  ‘How can that be so?’ Shannay demanded, glaring at him. ‘Establishing custody rights will provide a total disruption to her life. Schooling, friends, family. Any hope of stability.’ She could feel herself winding up. ‘I’m her mother, dammit.’

  He looked at her for what seemed an age, noting the fine edge of her anger, the restrained need to fight him … regardless of common-sense.

  ‘Nicki hasn’t displayed any curiosity about the absence of a father in her life?’

  She ignored the silkiness in his voice, the latent anger held in tight control, and her eyes sharpened beneath the dark inflexibility evident in his.

  ‘Inevitably, soon after she began attending kindergarten,’ she revealed.

  ‘And?’

  Her gaze didn’t waver. ‘I told her the very basic truth.’

  An eyebrow lifted. ‘Enlighten me.’

  ‘I left her father before she was born.’ She lifted a hand and smoothed it over her hair in an unconscious gesture. ‘A number of children have single parents nowadays.’

  Marcello leaned back in his chair and regarded her thoughtfully. ‘Except you’re still married, Shannay. To me.’

  ‘Not for much longer.’

  His smile was a faint facsimile. ‘In four years you have only considered filing for divorce now?’

  ‘I’m not part of one of your business deals, Marcello. So quit playing psychological games.’ Shannay buttoned down her frustrated anger. ‘Spell out exactly what you intend.’

  For a moment she imagined she glimpsed a fleeting shadow in the depth of his eyes, only to dismiss it.

  ‘With Nicki?’

  ‘Of course, with Nicki!’

  ‘Initially, I want to gift a sick elderly man the opportunity to meet his only great-grandchild.’

  It wasn’t the answer she expected, nor was the mixture of emotions that tore at her heart. ‘Ramon is ill?’

  The one person who had attempted to smooth over the family discord at Marcello’s choice of a wife. Someone who saw more than anyone intended, and became her ally. ‘How ill?’

  ‘The medical professionals predict he has only a matter of months. Maybe less.’

  The implications assumed vivid reality. Achieving his objective would involve taking Nicki to Spain.

  Pain escalated as it raced through her body, consuming her mind with turmoil. ‘I won’t allow you to take her overseas.’ Rationality went out the window. ‘She doesn’t have a passport. Hell, she doesn’t even know you!’

  What if he didn’t bring Nicki back?

  What if Nicki became distressed, distraught …?

  ‘Naturally, you would accompany her.’

  Revisit a place where she had spent the worst twenty months of her life?

  Mix with a family who hid their disapproval of Marcello’s choice of a wife beneath a thin veneer of politeness? A former lover, touted not to be so former, who delighted in causing mischief and mayhem?

  ‘You have to be kidding!’

  ‘A few weeks,’ Marcello elaborated. ‘That’s all.’

  Shannay closed her eyes, then opened them again. ‘No.’

  ‘I gave Ramon my word.’

  Something which only made the situation worse. ‘Ramon knows about Nicki?’

  ‘My grandfather was—’ he paused fractionally ‘—inadvertently appraised of Nicki’s existence.’

  It wasn’t difficult to do the maths. ‘Penè.’ Marcello’s widowed aunt, a disgruntled woman who took delight in running interference.

  She had no difficulty envisaging Sandro informing Marcello of his chance encounter a week ago, or the manner in which Penè came to hear of it.

  Happy families. Not.

  There was more. Ramon’s illness was only a part of it.

  Her eyes narrowed. ‘And?’

  One eyebrow slanted in silent query.

  She took a deliberate sip of coffee, then another, before replacing the glass onto its saucer as she speared him with a direct look.

  ‘I don’t doubt the validity of your request. But don’t attempt to use it as a smokescreen.’ Did he think she was a naive fool?

  ‘Why would I do that?’

  Shannay had positioned the figurative nail, now she chose to hammer it home. ‘To gain my sympathy, and dilute the major issue here.’ She waited a beat. ‘Your plans to gain custody.’ Her expression hardened a little. ‘Or is that not to form part of this discussion, and you’ll instruct your legal representative to inform mine of your intention?’

  She was fearless when it came to protecting her child. He admired her strength and determination … and pondered if she was fully aware it was no match for his.

  ‘It will take time to work out a mutually amicable custody agreement,’ Marcello offered with deceptive indolence. ‘We need to consult and compare our individual schedules, and above all, ensure the arrangements we propose suit Nicki’s best interests. Her emotional welfare is the priority, is it not?’

  Defensive assurance rose to the fore. ‘My daughter’s emotional status is just fine as it is.’

  ‘But circumstances have changed,’ he posed with deliberate calm. ‘Nicki is no longer the child of one parent. She has two. The legal system is purported to be fair. If we’re unable to reach an amicable agreement, a court judge will review our respective cases and award custody.’ He paused deliberately, his gaze intent on her expressive features. ‘Given the facts, do you doubt any judge will deny me reasonable access to my daughter?’

  No, she conceded the hollow knowledge. But she was confident she could insist such access be confined within Australia.

  ‘Why do I get the feeling there’s an underlying reason behind all this?’ she demanded with increasing vexation.

  ‘One you obviously haven’t considered,’ Marcello ventured, then elaborated with faint emphasis. ‘Nicki’s rightful inheritance as a legitimate member of the Martinez dynasty.’

  Her chin tilted, and her eyes became dark, gold-flecked obsidian. ‘For this, you require proof of paternity?’

  ‘A considerable fortune is involved.’

  Sufficient to put Nicki on a spoilt-little-rich-girl list and all that entailed.

  ‘No.’

  ‘It is her right as a Martinez heir.’

  ‘Never sure of being liked for herself, or for who she is and what she can do for them? Living in a gilded cage, guarded and protected? Unable to enjoy the freedom of a normal childhood?’

  Marcello drained his coffee and signalled the waitress for another, indicating only one when Shannay shook her head.

  ‘Wealth brings risks. Bodyguards are discreet. It’s something one learns to live with.’

  She made a sweeping glance of the area, then returned her attention to him. ‘Next, you’ll tell me yours is seated near by.’ It was a comment veiled with deliberate cynicism, and she caught the slight twist at the edge of his mouth.

  ‘Three tables to your right. Tall, dark hair, shades, dressed in jeans and polo shirt. Carlo doubles as my personal assistant.’

  So much for flippancy.

  She hadn’t sensed anyone’s presence, or felt that inexplicable prickling at the back of her neck … and she definitely hadn’t seen anything to arouse susp
icion.

  But then, the possibility hadn’t occurred to her. She was here in Perth, Australia. A woman and her young daughter living a normal life.

  Far, far removed from Madrid and the Martinez lifestyle where protection of its family members formed an integral part of their existence.

  She was all too aware of Marcello’s veiled scrutiny, the watching quality as he gauged her mood, divined it, then closed in for the kill.

  ‘Sign the permission form, Shannay. Apply for Nicki’s passport, and request urgency on the grounds overseas travel is imminent.’

  A chill shiver slithered its way down her spine. Without a passport Nicki was confined within Australia.

  Once a passport was issued, her daughter would be able to travel … anywhere, independent of her mother.

  The mere thought escalated her nervous tension and sent her mind spiralling with very real fear of abduction … by Marcello, if he was so inclined to take Nicki to Madrid, with or without Shannay’s permission.

  Something she’d fight to guard against, at any cost.

  ‘Or else you’ll drag me through the courts, Marcello?’

  ‘Why not view a sojourn in Madrid as an opportunity for Nicki to become accustomed to my home, my family, and to enjoy aspects of the city in the security of your company?’

  She knew what would follow, and he didn’t disappoint.

  ‘Ramon will have time with his great-grand-daughter. Is that too much to ask of you?’

  ‘And how is this holiday to be explained to Nicki? She’s intelligent for her age. She’ll ask questions, expect answers.’

  ‘Why not lead her into the truth a step at a time?’

  Shannay viewed him with scepticism. ‘A suggestion from a man who has no experience with children?’

  ‘Is it so difficult to accept such a suggestion might have some merit?’

  ‘I’m all ears,’ she evinced with deliberate mockery.

  ‘Not to mention doubtful and prejudiced.’

  Her eyes flashed chips of gold fire. ‘With good reason.’

  ‘Let’s focus on the current issue, shall we?’

  ‘Oh, by all means.’

  He wanted to take hold of her fire and change it to passion, to still the anger and have her sigh beneath the touch of his mouth, his hands. To come alive and move with him, savour the anticipation, the slow emotive path to sensual ecstasy they had once enjoyed.